He said the CPI and the CPI(M) were contesting the Lok Sabha elections together for the first time in Tamil Nadu, without the support of any other party.

There is a historic need for the Left parties to increase their strength in Parliament, Communist Party of India national secretary D. Raja has said.

Speaking to reporters at a function to mark B.R. Ambedkar’s birth anniversary here, he said the nation should come out of the situation wherein people were forced to choose between two parties. While people were disappointed with the Congress, they must note that if the BJP was to be voted to power, it would be the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh that would call the shots.

The RSS ideology, he said, went against an inclusive society envisaged by Ambedkar. A political change must be brought about if the policies of the BJP and the Congress were to be ended. For this, the Left must gain strength in Parliament.

He said the CPI and the CPI(M) were contesting the Lok Sabha elections together for the first time in Tamil Nadu, without the support of any other party. Their candidates were enjoying good support.

When it was pointed out that AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa attacked the BJP at a meeting in Karur on Sunday, Mr. Raja said she had criticised the Congress and BJP governments for letting Tamil Nadu down in the Cauvery issue. But she did not attack the BJP for its ideology. (Recently, Mr. Raja wondered why she had not uttered a single word against the BJP in her campaign, while being aggressive against the Congress.)

As for actor Rajnikanth’s statement that BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi was a good administrator, Mr. Raja said the actor seemed to have made the remark on the basis of how much he knew about Mr. Modi. But the minorities in Gujarat lived under fear.

Mr. Raja said the BJP-led alliance in Tamil Nadu was not rooted in any common ideology. It was a picture of paradox, with parties of divergent views coming together to face the elections.